PHOENIX -- The Brewers offered a clue about their Opening Day plans by revealing their Cactus League pitching rotation on Tuesday.

After Mike Fiers starts an exhibition against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Wednesday, Kyle Lohse will start in Tempe, Ariz., against the Angels on Thursday(2:10 p.m. CT on MLB.TV), and Matt Garza will pitch against the Dodgers on Friday (2:05 p.m. CT on MLB.TV). That order makes it appear Lohse is being lined up to start the team's April 6 regular-season opener against the Rockies at Miller Park.

PHOENIX -- Gerardo Parra is the rare Gold Glove finalist without a spot in a starting lineup. But if his place in the Brewers' pecking order is bothersome, especially considering he's entering a contract year, Parra wouldn't let on while the tape recorders were rolling.

"No, I'm happy," he said. "I don't think nothing like that, like we have a lot of outfielders. The only thing is working and playing every day and doing my job."

PHOENIX -- Hunter Morris, once the Brewers' heir apparent to Prince Fielder at first base, finds himself exiled from the 40-man roster and sliding down the depth chart. He knows exactly what's at stake this spring.

"There's still an opportunity to go out and change the team's mind," said Morris, who is now 26. "I certainly haven't slid completely out of the picture, but it's going to take some work to get back to being in that mix at first base. I'm fine with that at this point."

Last Call: Regulars likely for spring opener

Ron Roenicke talks about Jimmy Nelson throwing his first live batting practice session after missing the 2014 season

By William Boor
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MLB.com |

PHOENIX -- "Last Call" is a spot for all the notes and anecdotes from Brewers camp that didn't find a home elsewhere on the site.

• The Brewers kick off their Spring Training schedule with a game against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Wednesday, and although it's still unclear who exactly will play in the game, the Brewers are expected to use some of their regulars.

PHOENIX -- Unless Mother Nature has other ideas, Brewers reliever Jim Henderson will encounter a milestone on Sunday, when he is scheduled to face hitters for the first time since last year's right shoulder surgery.

It's only live batting practice, but Henderson views it as a notable step in his comeback bid.

PHOENIX -- Even after putting the brakes on some of the Brewers' aggressive baserunning late last season, manager Ron Roenicke has not wavered in his belief that taking chances on the bases creates more benefit than harm.

"No question about it," Roenicke said. "I think if you're more aggressive on offense, you'll be more aggressive on defense, which you need to be. I think the freedom, that they're not stressed and they're not looking over their shoulder at us, that creates a better opportunity for them to perform well."

PHOENIX -- Shedding light on why he exercised his half of a mutual option with the Brewers rather than seek a multiyear contract in free agency, Aramis Ramirez said his 20th professional season will also be his last.

"I don't want a multiyear deal," Ramirez said. "I'm going to play this year, and probably be done after this year. I don't know if I want to play after this year. I think this is it. I had a nice career, and I think enough is enough."

PHOENIX -- Last Call is a spot for all the notes and anecdotes from Brewers camp that didn't find a home elsewhere on the site. Today, hot tickets off the frozen presses:

• The Brewers reported selling 101,000 tickets by 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, the first day of individual sales. That's a 10,000 ticket bump from a year ago, and just shy of the single-day record of 104,000 set in 2009.

Then there's Aramis Ramirez. He would have been a four-time All-Star, but declined to make a last-minute trip to Phoenix as a replacement in 2011. He and his family had made plans when he was initially named to Bruce Bochy's team and he didn't feel right breaking them, as much as he would have liked to hang with the game's best players.

PHOENIX -- Brewers officials weren't surprised Friday when Aramis Ramirez announced he intends to retire after this season. Club officials had already been thinking about who's on deck to play third base.

"You'd like to have a young guy [to take over]," GM Doug Melvin said. "We just don't have him right now. You never know. We've got depth at shortstop."

Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brew Beat, and follow him on Twitter at @AdamMcCalvy. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Timber Rattlers unveil new funnel cake cheeseburger

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By Michael Clair |

I'm not sure about you, but buying a ticket to a baseball game is an implicit agreement between myself and society that I am being permitted to eat as much as want, judgment free. If I feel like eating 18 hot dogs in nine innings, this is the place to do it.

Fortunately, the Timber Rattlers, the Class-A affiliate of the Brewers, and their head chef Tim Hansen understand that. Hence two of their ballpark creations for next year.

The veteran reliever agreed Thursday to a two-year, $13 million free-agent contract that includes a club option, giving the Brewers their closer and reuniting Rodriguez with the team that has acquired him on five separate occasions since July 2011. Milwaukee won't make a formal announcement until Rodriguez passes a physical exam and the club clears a 40-man roster spot.

PHOENIX -- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio has suggested he was too drowned in disappointment last September to address players before they went home for the winter. So when he stepped forward in the clubhouse at Maryvale Baseball Park on Thursday, he had plenty to say.

"I had five full months or so to get perspective," Attanasio said as the team took part in its first full-squad workout. "I was able more to focus on a new spring and hope rather than on a difficult last month.

Broxton moves down to setup role, while others contend to make team

PHOENIX -- The Brewers' two-year deal with Francisco Rodriguez caused a ripple effect throughout the rest of the bullpen, but if the man most affected was feeling down about a potentially reduced role, he didn't let on.

"As long as we win, I don't care," said Jonathan Broxton, who was positioned to be the closer before Rodriguez returned Thursday on a two-year, $13 million contract. "I haven't paid attention to it. Somebody said something this morning, so I looked it up. That was it.

PHOENIX -- When there's news out of the early clubhouse session, we'll post a "Morning Brew," which will morph into "Last Call" at the end of the day. It will house the notes and anecdotes that didn't find a home elsewhere on the site.

PHOENIX -- Now comes the real test for Ryan Braun and his meddlesome right thumb. The Brewers outfielder reported to camp Wednesday in full health, vowing to rejoin the list of baseball's elite hitters if he can get through the next six weeks of Spring Training without a setback.

"I feel good. I'm only 31; I should be good," Braun said. "I expect to go out there and be one of the best players in the league."

Roenicke juggling options for infield depth

PHOENIX -- The Brewers know what their defense-first crop of young shortstops can do at that position, so manager Ron Roenicke will spend the spring judging those players' versatility as he seeks to set personnel for the bench.

PHOENIX -- Shortstop Jean Segura arrived at Maryvale Baseball Park on Tuesday bearing news of a better finish to what was an otherwise nightmarish 2014 season.

Segura married a Venezuelan girl named Kellen soon after the season, and the couple welcomed a son, Juan Diego, who was born in Milwaukee in October. His family is with him in the Phoenix area for Spring Training, as is Segura's father, Carlos, who is visiting the United States for the first time and is eager to see his son play in the Major Leagues.

PHOENIX -- Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers still thinks about the wayward fastball that struck Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton in the face last September, but said he must continue to pitch inside if he's to remain successful in the Major Leagues.

"It's obviously still in my head. You get flashbacks every once in a while," Fiers said. "That moment was really tough for a lot of people, but it's definitely behind. I had to put it behind me pretty quick, you know? We were in a tough situation, in a playoff race. I didn't want to be the one where I hit somebody and I was scared to pitch again, especially with this team needing quality starts going into that last month of the season.

PHOENIX -- Tyler Thornburg would love to settle into a set role. But for now, the right-hander remains the Swiss Army knife of the Brewers' pitching staff.

Thornburg met Tuesday morning with manager Ron Roenicke and bought into the idea of "stretching out" like a starting pitcher this spring. The idea is to position Thornburg, who's had Major League success as a starter, a long reliever and a late-inning setup man, to help wherever he's most needed later in camp.

Several players could fit in same slots, 'good problem' for manager

PHOENIX -- With the Brewers' first exhibition game nine days away, manager Ron Roenicke said "nothing's set" in the team's batting order. Writing a lineup is proving a more difficult process than in seasons past.

"This is going to be a tough lineup to write up," Roenicke said. "It's a good problem, but it's tough because I see a lot of guys who should be grouped in kind of the same slot. I think we have a lot of guys who are good fifth, sixth hitters. I have to figure out how to do that."

Brewers put in strong offer for Moncada

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers believe they were the first team to submit an offer to Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada, but they knew within days that the 19-year-old would be signing elsewhere.

On Monday, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reported Moncada had agreed to a record-smashing $31.5 million bonus from the Red Sox. In practice, signing Moncada will cost the Red Sox $63 million -- the bonus figure, plus a penalty for exceeding their international signing pool. Boston is also now barred from signing a pool-eligible player for more than $300,000 during the next two signing periods.

Center fielder always looking to improve, wants to stay on field

PHOENIX -- With Spring Training underway at Maryvale Baseball Park, we're introducing a new feature at Brewers.com that you'll see often this spring. When there's news out of the early clubhouse session, we'll post a "Morning Brew," which will morph into "Last Call" at the end of the day. It will house the notes and anecdotes that didn't find a home elsewhere on the site.

Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brew Beat, and follow him on Twitter at @AdamMcCalvy. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Willis mounts another comeback, this time with Brewers

Former phenom healthy, happy to be back on mound

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Willis excited to be at camp 1:14

Dontrelle Willis shares his excitement to be participating at Brewers camp and explains that he is dedicated to staying healthy

By Adam McCalvy
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MLB.com |

PHOENIX -- Dontrelle Willis starts talking, and the volume in the Brewers Spring Training clubhouse begins to rise. Everyone forgets that it's 8:30 a.m., that it's been a dozen years since a 21-year-old Willis strutted to the World Series with the Marlins and that his famous smile hasn't graced a Major League field for more than three years.

Willis starts talking about his latest comeback bid with the Brewers, how he's healthy and having fun and not feeling any pressure, and everyone around him smiles, too.

Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brew Beat, and follow him on Twitter at @AdamMcCalvy. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Inexperienced Jungmann leads Brewers' rotation depth

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Jungmann hopeful for roster spot 2:40

Brewers pitching prospect Taylor Jungmann talks about his spring progress and competing for a spot on the team's Opening Day roster

By Adam McCalvy
/
MLB.com |

PHOENIX -- Hearing that he's all the way up to No. 6 on the Brewers' starting pitching depth chart did little to move Brewers prospect Taylor Jungmann on Sunday, when the club's pitchers and catchers took part in their first formal workout.

"I haven't thrown a pitch yet for the spring, so I don't think it means a whole lot," Jungmann said.